Six Companies License DVD Patents

Six DVD technology developers ñ Hitachi, Ltd. Matsushita Electric Industrial co., ltd. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Time Warner, Inc., Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. ñ have announced that they have begun a worldwide joint licensing program for patents essential to DVD-Video players, DVD-ROM drives, DVD decoders, and DVD-Video and DVD-ROM discs. This announcement was made following receipt of an affirmative business review leer form the U.S. Department of Justice and filing of a notification with the European Commission. The license portfolio consists of the six companiesí essential patents for DVD-Video and DVD-ROM. Licenses for the portfolio will be available for products that comply with DVD formats adhering to DVD Forum specifications. Interested parties also will be able to negotiate separate license agreements, rather than taking a single portfolio license, with each of the six companies. The companies have authorized Toshiba to be the agent for the program, with Matsushita and Hitachi providing support and the first point of contact in certain regions.